Tuesday, August 9, 2011

He's Just Not That Into You

You’ve been talking to him for weeks. She’s been talking to him. No one can get through to him. Yup, I’m talking about your secondary character.

Why the hell has he gone quiet?

With men it’s SO much harder to get them to listen. A girl you can coax with a cocktail, a piece of chocolate, or even a sweet sentiment.

Unless you’re going to shove a gorgeous girl their way with absolutely no work they’re not moving.

So how do you handle making your secondary character more than just a cardboard cutout?

You’ve worked your ass off on the main character. The reader knows she loves to dip goldfish crackers in peanut butter but they don’t have any idea what the love interest has for a color of eyes!

The easiest way to form the character is to stick with the basics. If they’re not talking chances are they don’t feel important enough. A way to make this happen is to ask them some fun questions along with some serious ones.

Color of eyes to what’s their favorite sports… each portion has meaning. The more you know about the character the more likely they’ll talk and help make not only your dialogue strong but the overall story stronger.

Here's the thing: Everyone has a reason for being where they are and doing what they're doing. I start with the deep motivations and go back to shallow.

For example, one of my SPs (that my CP still thinks is a cliche, but I don't think she cares that much) is the youngest of four kids, but only the second in her family to start on a particular...career path. Her sister, the only other kid to do it, totally kicked butt, and her parents are so proud that now she's doing it too. So she's got a lot to live up to, but she's also excited to be there. That creates some of her physical and verbal responses to things, and her motivation for being friends wtih my MC in the first place. The rest just comes from there.

Does that answer the question? I woke up at 3:30 to work on my infant WIP.:)

I found a male secondary to a female main is the most difficult to write perhaps because of "social conditioning" in my age group.Deep introspection into the relationship from both sides helped tremendously.

Great post! As one just embarking on the novel writing journey, I know that the MC couldn't become who she will be without the secondary characters. It is so important to know why she likes them, is drawn to them and needs them in her life. I sort of think about my own life. What do my friends bring me? Why did I choose for them to be a part of my life. It isn't just about what they like to do, but about their emotional experiences too.

As always, great post. And how did you know about one of my fave snacks ?!?! (goldfish and peanut butter). I think the main thing to remember is to make the character unique enough that if you took out them and replaced them, it would definitely show. If it doesn't matter, then something is wrong.

I use composites. I take traits from someone real and mix it in with what I need for my character. While writing, I find a look a like, print it out, and do a trait list adding what traits I want the character to have. I love the side kick...Especially when he/she is the opposite of the MC and they still get along.

One thing that really helps me is to write a bit of the story from their POV. Since I write primarily in first person, it forces me to get inside their head, and it forces them to open up to me. I'll discover things about their character and what they think of my MC that I didn't realize before. But yeah, it can be pretty frustrating.

Terrific post! I do a little Q&A with all but my passing characters and then weave tidbits into the writing. With guy characters, just like real-life guys, lots of info comes out when they are busy doing something, so I keep 'em occupied.

I put tones of emotion into my male characters. Just because they're guys doesn't mean they have no soul. Make them passionate about anything. Show there flaws. Let them fail so they have to try that much harder to succeed.

Give them a quirky habit. Biting nails, tapping their fingers, wearing old football jerseys. Anything that shows some sort of passion.

I don't have any formula for giving the characters dimension. A lot of times I've got sort of a blend of real life people in my mind, and no one I've met in real life is 2 dimensional so (I hope) the characters aren't either.

My secondary characters tend to come out of nowhere and then throw so many details at me and backgrounds and story at me that sometimes it leaves me going, "Shut up for half a second; I'm trying to listen to the main characters right now!" But they are very important, too. ;)

I'm not saying that I've got my secondary characters right, but one thing I do to discover more about them is to lock them into a room with the main character and have them fight.

That's right - a good, gut-spilling arguement reveals lots of things I never knew: past resentments and current tensions between the characters.

A fight reveals lots about their personalities and how they approach conflict. Do they back off even when they know they're right, or do they keep yelling even when they're in the wrong? Are they cool and logical, tearful, passive-aggressive, sarcastic or hot-headed? Do they strike with low blows or gently defuse the situation? Or do they even refuse to engage and just walk away? Do they hug after the fight or agree to disagree?

See - lots there! As they say, fiction is all about conflict, conflict, conflict.

I love adding little unique and memorable quirks about them. Perhaps they always have a lopsided grin or messed-up hair or a smell. Something that is part of their character traits as well as something that can easily define them. BTW, thanks for visiting my blog! Looks like we have a lot in common :)